Play pen



.Sept 19, 1939. A. wQswANscN 2,173,639

PLAY PEN Filed April 22, 1958 Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES PLAYPEN Y Axel W. Swanson,

Chicago, Ill., assigner to The Holmquist-Swanson Company, a corporationof Illinois Application April 22, 1938, Serial No. ,203,656

3 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to play pens for infants, and moreparticularly to a collapsible pen which may be supported in opened o1'collapsed position solely by casters.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved pen whichmay be folded up readily so as to occupy but a small amount of space toenable it to be moved around on its casters whether in opened or closedposition.

The present invention is an improvement over the play pen shown in myPatent No. 2,059,058, issued October 27, 1936. The present play pen isvery similar to the one described in my patent except for the improvedoor supporting means which will be described below.

It is desirable in play pens of this character to have the floorsections elevated a few inches above the floor of the room. In thedevice shown in my patent a special supporting leg was provided underthe central portion of the oor of the pen but in the present inventionthat leg has been eliminated and an improved supporting cross-barsubstituted.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of apen embodying the invention; and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view,taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. 1, showing the cross-barconstruction.

In the embodiment illustrated, A designates rigid side walls to whichare pivotally connected, at each end, jointed side walls A; B, a pair offloor sections which are hinged to the rigid side walls A; and C, ajointed cross-bar adapted to support the central portion of the oorsections when in opened position.

The side walls A are of conventional grille work construction and areprovided at their lower sides with frame members 3 to which casters 4are attached.

The side walls A are of similar construction and connect the ends of therigid side walls by means of end hinges 5 in the well-known manner. Theside walls A are each made up in two sections Which are joined by acentral hinge 6 so that they may swing inwardly into the enclosure.

The i'loor sections B are each made up of floor boards 'l which aredisposed parallel to the rigid 50 side walls and are connected at theirends by means of slats 8 which are connected to the side walls A bymeans of hinges 9 so that the sections may be swung upwardly adjacent tothe rigid side walls. One of the floor sections is shown ;5 with anadditional centrally disposed slat IU while the other floor section hasits floor boards attached directly to the cross-bar C.

The cross-bar C is made up in two complementary sections which togetherspan the distance between the rigid side walls. One of the sec- 5 tionsIl', as indicated above, is attached directly to the lloor boards Iwhile the other section l2 is free, but is adapted to support the otherfloor section having the cross slat il). The sections Il and by means ofa hinge l 3 so that the cross-bar may be bent upwardly when the floorsections are turned up to collapse the pen. It will be understood thatthe section I2 may be swung around adjacent to the section il andaccordingly will 15 not project above the top of the rigid side wallswhen in collapsed position. The lower frame members of one of the rigidside walls and the jointed side Walls are provided with metal bracketsI4 which are fixed in position by means of rivets 20 l5. These bracketsserve to support the slats 8 and one end of the section Il of thecross-bar when the pen is opened. The free end of the cross-bar is shownprovid'ed with a projecting dowel I6 which may be projected into asocket 25 l1 provided in the lower frame member 3.

To collapse the pen it is merely necessary to raise the two floorsections into vertical position, swing the free section I2 of thecrossbar C down adjacent to its companion section Il, and 30 press thehinges 6 of the jointed side walls inwardly. This will collapse the peninto an extremely small space but it still may be moved around readilyon its casters.

The foregoing Adetailed description has been 35 given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible, in View of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A collapsible play pen comprising: a pair of opposed rigid sidewalls; a pair of centrally jointed side walls connecting adjacent endsof said rigid side walls by means of hinges, said cen- 45 tral jointsbeing arranged so as to swing inwardly intol the enclosure; a pair ofcomplementary floor sections, each of said sections being hinged to thelower portion of the adjacent rigid side wall so that the sections mayindependently swing upwardly into vertical positions when the pen is tobe collapsed; a central cross-bar secured only to one of said floorsections and having two abutting sections connected by a centrallydisposed hinge with its pivot at the lower edge of the bar I2 of thecross-bar are connected together l0 so that said bar may be flexedupwardly; and means on said rigid side walls for supporting the ends ofsaid jointed cross-bar with the top face of the bar against the bottomof the floor sections when the latter are Adown in opened position.

2. A device as speciiied in claim 1, in which the cross-bar supportingmeans comprises a metal bracket affording a lip upon which the end ofthe cross-bar section, which is attached to a iioor section, may rest,and the other end of the free cross-bar section has a projection adaptedto engage a socket in the opposite rigid side wall.

3. A collapsible play pen comprising: a pair of opposed rigid side Wallsprovided at their bottom corner portions with supporting casters adaptedto carry the pen in open or collapsed condition; a pair of centrallyjointed side walls connecting adjacent ends of said rigid side walls bymeansK of end hinges, said central joints being arranged so that thesections may swing inwardly into the enclosure; a pair of complementaryfloor sections, each of said sections being hinged to the lower portionof one of the adjacent rigid side Walls so that the sections may swingupwardly into Vertical positions when the pen is to be co1- lapsed, andsaid sections each comprising ioor boards disposed parallel to the rigidside Walls and connected by cross slats; a central cross-bar securedsolely to one of said floor sections and having two abutting sectionsconnected by a centrally disposed hinge with its pivot at the lower edgeof the bar so as to bend upwardly; a bracket on one of the rigid sidewalls for supporting the end of the secured portion of said cross-baradjacent to the lower face of the opened Iioor sections, the free end ofthe bar making a tongueand-groove connection with the other rigid sidewall; and metal brackets on the lower parts of the side walls forsupporting the cross slats when the floor sections are down in openedposition.

AXEL W. SWANSON.

